Client: PCI Developments

Overview

“Walking Spectrum,” by the artist Devon Knowles, is located at 601 West Hastings, in Vancouver, B. C., Canada. It was commissioned by PCI Developments in consultation with Ballard Fine Art and is now part of the City of Vancouver Public Art collection. B+H Architects designed this 25-story modern office building as a part of a community revitalization initiative. “Walking Spectrum” is a multi-layered collage of urban imagery.

Goals

Knowles is intrigued by how historic, social and economic realities impact metropolitan environments. She surveyed the project location, using her camera to document the area from different angles and perspectives, capturing the skyline, buildings, signs, foliage, and art. These close observations became the source material for her work. Knowles intuitively combined site-specific imagery into a kaleidoscope of colors, patterns and textures -- making this arresting permanent installation a tour de force for employees, local residents and passersby.

Process

Employing a rigorous lens-based process, the artist manipulated her photographic imagery, fashioning new patterns out of images of objects, textures and colors -- a bold effort to synthesize existing realities. Mayer of Munich translated this dynamic interplay of image and color, with airbrush and hand painting surface treatments, activating the surface and making full use of the transparent nature of glass.

Additional Information

Images 1,2,3 and 6 Photo credit: Rachel Topham Photography. Devon Knowles lives and works in Vancouver, Canada, located on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest. Her multi-faceted practice includes sculpture, installation, and two-dimensional work. Her thoughtful approach to places and the communities within them, takes into consideration their past, present and future. This research and documentation becomes both a conceptual framework and visual content. She is represented by Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC and is faculty at Langara College, snəw̓eyəɬ leləm’. First photo credit: Rachel Topham Photography